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#i think its cause i was watching a gameplay of a game that made me think of shit LMAO
illumalux · 17 days
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Life Series Victors as Tarot Cards
A presentation on why we’ve got it all wrong when it comes to grouping life series victors.
This post will continue on with the implication that ZombieCleo is a Victor, simply because she is. She won real life, therefore she's a victor. Argue with the wall.
Now, I see your celestial trio of the first three winners. This should never change. This feels the most apt, it centers perfectly, and each of the things it represents are present in multiple different categories. Obviously in space, as everyone has adapted to, but also in a Minecraft world, and what I see as more important: in a tarot deck.
Think about it this way.
The Watchers, in whatever form you think they (or we) take, are collecting these Victors. Each one means a different thing, survived a different landscape. While I understand the celestial motif of the first three Victors, and how it fits into their characters, I would argue that many others are far too grounded for that.
It’s a collection, remember? What is better for assembling a set than a deck of cards? Especially ones that meddle in Fate, something the Watchers seem to adore.
So here are the cards each Victor represents, with card meaning and my defense as well. This will go in chronological order of the seasons.
Before I continue, I just want to give a disclaimer. Every tarot deck has a slightly different explanation for what each card means. The definitions I use are a mix of three of my decks and the official Rider-Waite-Smith deck's explanation, so if there are inconsistencies with what your deck says or what you know, please don't come for me.
Grian, Third Life:
XIX. The Sun
Beyond the obvious desert motifs (a whole extra post in and of itself), the Sun is representative of not only Grian's gameplay, but also how the Watchers (those collecting this deck) feel about him. Grian is one of them, so he naturally starts out in their good graces, with a greater level of respect.
Rider-Waite-Smith defines the card as one of success. Of course the Watchers will gloat when their baby wins. Even if he wasn't meant to, it did inevitably mean that throughout his game, Grian was inarguably one of the largest sources of negative emotions, second only to the Red Army. Again. Extra post on its own. When he won, it saved anyone the satisfaction that might negate their negativity, alongside the delicious outpouring of grief that was the final duel of Third Life.
Reversed, the Sun is a card of depression. As I just touched on, one of the most defining moments of Grian's game was his final victory. When the ending came down to himself or his greatest ally, he went about it in the way that caused probably the most pain to both parties involved. It pushed him to the very brink, ending in him defining his own ending just moments after winning.
Scott, Last Life:
XVII. The Star
Even ignoring the starborne origins and headcanons, as well as the crown of stars included in his skin (Void below, these posts write themselves) this one looks like a super simple explanation, but actually requires me pointing out something that may not be obvious to some Watchers: Scott, in every game and Iteration has made it a point to rebel against the rules in whatever way he can. I could go into full detail, but thats a lot of words and I don't need anyoen to get bored. (Void, this series and side tangents that require other posts)
In third life, a game about death and destruction, and the originator of factions, Scott took a very different route: he got married and built a house in a flower field. When grief finally found him, he refused to give the Watchers any satisfaction, literally crystalizing his grief into a part of his character design (and one that would remain for two to three more seasons, depending on your thoughts on the coral pieces). In Last Life, he is the singular person in all five seasons (technically two, but shhh this is more dramatic) to withstand the Boogeyman curse, something the Watchers installed purposefully to make people kill allies. Double Life, obviously, as Scott rejecting the soulmate the Watchers gave him. Limited life, in which kills gave more time, Scott did not die a single time without giving life freely, either to an ally or a temporary ally.
That got long. Anyways. Scott's game has always been one of hope, spreading positivity and refusing to be pushed around by the Watchers. And that's exactly what the Star means. Upright, this is a card about hope and perseverence, pushing through challenges, which is exactly what Scott does. He refuses to let the Watchers' actions upset him and continues to play the game for his friends and for the future and nothing else.
Even reversed it still fits. Reversed, the Star means loss or abandonment. I've already used up too much time on Scott here, so I'll let you pick your favorite instance of that.
Pearl, Double Life:
XVIII. The Moon
This one is far and away the easiest. Like the previous two Victors, Pearl's story connected her with her symbol even before she won. But blood moons and wolf packs aside (as that's a whole different post for a whole different day) when you take a look at the definitions provided, it becomes even clearer.
The Moon is a card of transformation and change, as well as revealing one's inner self. Rider-Waite-Smith attributes hidden enemies, darkness, and terror with The Moon. While I'll happily analyze every single one of Pearl's actions as the Scarlet Pearl, I think this one is plenty self explanatory. After her rejection early on in the game, she immediately isolates herself and latches onto the night motifs, leaning in to what everyone expects her to be.
The reversed meanings also explain Pearl's arc in Double Life perfectly: confusion, mixed messages, and disbelief. This perfectly encapsulates Pearl's feelings at the very beginning of the game via her rejection by Scott and subsequent abandonment by Martyn in an attempt to get back into Cleo's good graces. Her instinctual reaction is one of shock, not understanding why Scott would choose to pick a soulmate when she was right in front of him.
Martyn, Limited Life:
XVI. The Tower
One of my favorite cards, the Tower is instantly recognizable. While most of my analyses aren't about how the card looks, I feel like it's important to share this time around. The most common image consists of a tower and one or both of two elements: lightning, and people falling. As a card, it represents sudden change, destruction, and chaos.
If anyone here is not yet convinced that I'm correct, please go rewatch Martyn's last LimLife episode, then come back and argue.
You're back? Great. We agree? No? Fine, I'll explain.
This fixates mainly on his winning game, but I'll touch on the rest of his games as well. LimLife ended with a huge betrayal on Martyn's part, one characterized by being so insanely sudden. (Of course it's the Watchers meddling. But the Tower isn't always about your own choices being your downfall.) He quite literally snapped as if hit by lightning (see description of the card), and this spells the beginning of the end for him.
Similarly, in all of his other games, Martyn finds himself with one pivotal moment that spells his downfall. The Red King, Betrayal at the Southlands (and honestly his worst move in DL was abandoning Pearl to try and beg for Cleo's forgiveness).
Funny enough, the reversed meaning of this card is almost a perfect match. I don't think this needs too much more explaining.
Scar, Secret Life:
X. The Wheel of Fortune
I adore Scar in these games. Every single season seems absolutely plagued by chaos. The worst season, obviously, was the one in which he gained his crown. Poor guy was just trying to make friends, and it seemed like every new secret was the exact opposite of what he wanted.
The Wheel is just what it sounds like: it's the card of luck, destiny, and fate. I won't add a new paragraph for the reversed meaning here either, as it means the exact same thing as upright, but with negative connotations in the form of bad luck and misfortune.
Scar is plagued by the whims of luck left and right. It seems like, more than any other player, Scar is unable (whether by others, fate, Watchers, what have you) to take full control of his own story and take actions that he wants to take, instead limited to where the current takes him.
But in the end, that chaos is what gives him his win. The lack of alliances and freedom that the game forced on him was what eventually lead him to be unmoored and able to volley his pain wherever he wanted, leading to a mostly painless win.
Cleo, Real Life:
XIII. Death
A little on the nose, I know, but which of these choices aren't? For a series entirely based on improv, there are a stupid amount of coincidences present.
Now, I know this is far and away the shortest series, so I'm going to analyse Cleo as a player across all of her seasons, not just her winning game. Sorry Real Life. You should have been longer.
While the meaning of the Death card may seem obvious, it's twofold in actuality. In some historical decks, even, the card is instead named Rebirth. I know how ironic that is that the zombie is the one who stands for death and rebirth, but again. Blame the stupid narrative, not the poor me trying to make sense of it.
In what my lovely mutual Honor called "phoenix behavior", I'm going to focus specifically on her deaths and rebirths, specifically BigB's betrayal in LastLife. Cleo takes her death hard, as anyone might. But her rebirth comes with change. The minute she respawns, it's with a different understanding of the world around her. She immediately embraces the change that has been given to her, burning down the Fairy Fort and ditching her alliance for a new one.
The reverse captures Cleo as a character over her seasons better than anyone on this list. While the upright meaning of the card is change, reversed it signifies stagnancy, obsession, and immobility. This can be seen almost perfectly with her thoughts on alliances. Scott remains forever in her good books, even over the course fo multiple seasons, simply because he has never wronged her. Even when they aren't direct allies,she still cooperates with him whenever, simply because she retains her previous feelings about him. The same can be said for BigB, but in the opposite direction. From the moment of the betrayal onwards, she refuses to trust him, going so far as to warn Pearl away from allying with him in LimLife.
Bonus: Jimmy Solidarity, the Canary
XII. The Hanged Man
But Moon! you shout, throwing your complimentary bucket of popcorn at me. Jimmy isn't a Victor! He's the exact opposite!
Yep.
That's why he's so soggy and why he goes on this list. You wanna argue that he doesn't have the same lore impact as a Victor? Too bad. Can't hear you. Jimmy gets his own card.
Initially, I was kinda sad that I already used the Tower, because that's the portent of doom and gloom or whatever, perfect for a canary. But then I spied an even better, even more Jimmy card.
The Hanged Man is the card of sacrifice. While I could go on a whole rant about the Fool's journey and how it is represented in the Life Series, that is Extra Tumblr Post Number IDK Anymore. Instead, today I'm going to stick to the basics. To specify sacrifice, the card doesn't just mean giving up. It signifies self sacrifice specifically. And what is Jimmy if not a semi-willing first sacrifice to get the chaos rolling?
How many times has he gone out to stop his friends from being the one who has to herald the change? The canary knows that he will sing the final notes, but so long as he can ensure the miners don't have to, he will descend once more.
Conclusion:
Now. Did I spend more time on this post than I ever did on an English Lit essay? Maybe. But as much as I love the space motifs this fandom has, I fundamentally disagree when we get to the latter winners. Come on, guys. Tarot decks are right here.
If I missed anything, or I misrepresented a player's game, please tell me. I can't be everywhere at once, and I'm always happy to learn more about some of the players I don't watch as regularly.
Anyways, this was way more fun to write than I expected. If anyone wants to see me give cards to the rest of the players who have yet to win, or an analysis of anything a mentioned in my tangents, please let me know.
Special thanks to @honorsongs who kept me company through this whole process and gave me many a suggestion when I lost my train of thought.
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what is G/t
G/t is, in its simplest form, the size difference trope. Think of those episodes in shows where the characters shrink or grow. It’s one of those tropes that can be slapped onto literally any media. It’s one of the most common tropes tv shows would use, alongside things like time travel, alternate dimensions, gender swap, just space, and more! G/t stands for Giant / tiny, which is usually the main focus for most people. There are many different things you can find in g/t from soft and cute scenarios to more angst and horror-like scenarios. It just depends on the person. G/t is usually very safe for work with some getting close to the edge of nsfw but never fully crossing it. On tumblr there is a very clear difference from the sfw and nsfw stuff (With g/t being the safe stuff and micro/macro being nsfw, usually)
Now the main thing about g/t is the size difference. With characters interacting with differently sized items or people. The G is the giant which is typically used for whoever the bigger (literally) person is. So it’s not always gonna be a giant and will sometimes be a human. The t on the other hand is the tiny person, which just like the G, can include a human sized person. As long as the size difference is great enough (each person has their own thoughts on when size difference becomes g/t or is simply tall person with slightly shorter person) then it is consider g/t. Now a tiny or giant doesn’t necessarily need to interact with their counter part, it could be something simple like a tiny fairy exploring an abandoned house, or a giant roaming the country side. If the person doesn’t “fit” in the environment it can count. (Which is probably why a lot of us use it as a coping mechanism. Cause like you don’t fit in and it’s easier to imagine literally not fitting in)
There are many kinds of character in g/t too! Tinies and giants can range from “That’s a human who is big/small” to “that’s a person who is big/small, but they have some extra features (like wings or horns, etc) to “that’s a creature/alien…a big/small one…oooohhhh” Most people in the community usually vibe with one of the sides. Most people are tinies, some a giants, and then there’s people like me who couldn’t decided and liked both sizes for different reasons and said “SCREW IT! Sizeshifter time”
There’s a lot to g/t and it’s kinda hard to describe and yet so simple to describe too. Each person into it, loves it for so many different reasons. It’s basically the trope that me and many others really love to many unique degrees. It’s literally about new perspectives and seeing our world from them, in a very literal sense sometimes. When you know about g/t you start seeing it everywhere, commercials, movies, tv shows, games, etc. The stories may have the same trope but each delivers it in such a unique way that, it always feels brand new and like an amazing adventure!
If you have any more question, or if anyone else has questions about other g/t things I can try my best to answer them (I’m very bad at answering asks, sorry about that) I may not be the best at explaining things, but I can sure try my best to!
Also, if you want to check it g/t out more but are a little scared to explore websites, I made a YouTube playlist (that I randomly update whoops) that has a bunch of g/t stuff in it. If you want to get a vibe of what it is. It’s organized (kinda) so you can check out the movies, games, animations, etc. I suggest watching the movies first because they tend to just be fun to watch even if you aren’t into g/t. And no worries, it’s a pretty clean content wise.
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blueskittlesart · 8 months
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do you have any thoughts on zelda not staying as a dragon? me personally I like it and am very cool with it mostly because I think zelda should get to be happy forever (and because I'm smart enough to know she changed back because of recall and not some ambiguous power of love lmao) but a lot of people seem to dislike that it made the draconification inconsequential?
i think there's like. some valid concerns surrounding inconsequentiality/"curing" the physical problems characters have as a way of giving them a "happy ending" but I think those concerns don't necessarily apply to totk in the way people seem to be applying them, especially irt zelda's draconification and link's arm.
most of the time when the criticism of this "magic cure" trope is applied to media, it's because the trope is used as a cure-all to erase a character's suffering or trauma and make them "normal" again, and often ignores the character development or themes of the story in favor of giving the character a happy ending. I don't think that applies to totk, though, because the "curing" link and zelda experience is both within the realm of possibility given the worldbuilding present in the game (recall could easily have done it, as you mentioned) AND thematically consistent with the rest of the game. One of if not the most important central themes of totk is the idea of failure and second chances. we see a hyrule that has been given a second chance after link's initial failure with the calamity brought it to the brink of destruction. we see characters who were deeply unhappy and entrenched in the shame of their precalamity mistakes like purah and zelda become active, beloved members of their communities. we see the people of lurelin village take back and rebuild their destroyed home. we watch this kingdom and its people make an unprecedented comeback after a century of struggle and ruin.
Similarly, totk's gameplay is LINK's second chance, his comeback from the initial mistake of losing zelda, of specifically being unable to reach her with his injured hand when they fell. The consequences of that--the master sword's corruption, the loss of his arm, and zelda's draconification, are all supposed to SEEM irreversible, because that's how LINK initially sees them. he believes that he doomed both himself and zelda all because of that SINGLE moment in which he wasn't enough, a viewpoint which is obviously left over from the pressure he experienced to perform to an impossible standard of perfection pre-calamity. The story of totk is about deconstructing that belief and proving it wrong. the mistake he made caused harm, but it's never too late to repair things. he can fix the regional phenomena ganondorf causes and rebuild those communities. he can revitalize the master sword. he can GET ZELDA BACK, with his own arm, uninjured and able to reach her this time. no matter how impossible those things may initially seem, no matter the perceived finality of his mistakes and their consequences, there is always hope. there is always a second chance. no one person's single mistake can doom an entire kingdom for eternity. the fate of hyrule was NEVER resting on link's shoulders alone. he was never their final hope. there was always going to be an after. the whole POINT of the draconification and the loss of link's arm is that they AREN'T final. they ARE inconsequential, because they were born of one mistake and ONE MISTAKE IS NOT THE END ALL.
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Can you tell me how to get started with dorf fortress? Like, how to get into it. I am thinking to try it but. I am bad at video games and i am worried it may be overwhelming given its complexity.
This ask came in on August the 8th, 2022, and I would first and foremost like to humbly and deeply apologise for my tardiness in getting around to answering you.
I've been asked this question a lot over the years. I had been going back and forward and umm-ing and ahh-ing at a few details - generating a brand new world, taking screenshots, being as to-the-point as I could. What you see above is about the tenth iteration of the work, and this will probably be the twelfth or so.
Here is the general setup for a successful Fortress:
Create a Small to Medium World.
Select Very Short to Short History.
High Civilizations are a must.
High to Very High Sites to keep things interesting.
Medium Number of Beasts so you won't starve.
Low to Very Low Natural Savagery so you don't get killed by Elephants.
Frequent to Everywhere Mineral Occurrence so you're never short on metals.
Settle in a Mountain tile.
In the preview, make sure you're next to a river.
Make sure when you examine the area, there's no Aquifier.
Check the Temperature, and make sure it's either "Warm" or "Hot".
[e]mbark!
Make sure you [d]esignate some Dwarfs to cu[t] down some trees.
[b]uild [w]orkshop fis[h]ery, two of them, next to your river.
[d]esignate a Dwarf to [d]ig up the stone to lay your foundations.
Every step I just listed is the quintessential "How to play Dwarf Fortress". In fact, if anybody wants to play Dwarf Fortress, this is all you need to follow - this, and the Wiki. You can reach it by going to the official Dwarf Fortress wiki, or use the In-Game Help menu by pressing [?] at any time during your gameplay to figure out the basics.
After writing all of this, I asked the community - mostly because I felt it was far too dry. This was pretty rough content, not at all interesting, and while helpful to most, it can be difficult to go into DF by rote instruction. Amongst them was my original suggestion: Watching Vargskelethor's Dwarf Fortress playthrough.
Some other suggestions from the wonderful community:
Use a "Lazy Newb" pack, such as PeridexisErrant's DF Starter Pack. These packs are tailor-made for newcomers into Dwarf Fortress, allowing for quick setup, texture packs, and a great deal of utilities.
Use the Dwarf Fortress Wiki's "Quickstart Guide". In fact, just use the Dwarf Fortress wiki in general! The whole wiki is tied to the game itself, so you can find it via the [?] Help! menu.
Use DFHack. DFHack, or Dwarf Fortress Hack, provides you with a console that runs detached from Dwarf Fotress, one that allows you to input commands to modify the game. It automates quite a fair few features for you, making the gameplay far easier.
Watch Let's Play's, Let's Learn's, or read some Dwarf Fortress stories. They're all excellent ways to learn the game - as mentioned previously, I personally figured it out watching Vargskelethor's Dwarf Fortress playthrough.
This covers basically everything you need to know. Everything relevant ends roughly here. This is the definitive, mechanical guide of starting Dwarf Fortress.
If you would not mind, however, I ask you to not leave yet. I have a story to tell you.
This is how to play Dwarf Fortress.
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If you've made it to the end, this work was heavily inspired by what initially caused me to be interested in Dwarf Fortress: the Quantum Artefact known as Planepacked.
I came across this whilst looking for video game glitches to laugh at during a moment of deep depression in 2012. Shortly after reading about this ludicrous artefact, and all it's unique, inter-locking, self-referential stacks of history, I found the story of Boatmurdered, which made me laugh myself deep into the school nights.
This year marks my 10th year of playing Dwarf Fortress, and it also coincides with the premium release of Dwarf Fortress on Steam. I joined this little page after my endeavours with speedrunning Dwarf Fortress in 2016 came to a crashing halt after my ambitions got the better of me, and I wrongfully stepped out of line with another member in the speedrunning community.
I only contributed little commentary, but have been continually impressed and proud of the tumblr Dwarf Fortress community - from its incredible artworks I've always wanted to join in on, to the sheer volume of incredible Fortress Stories, to trying to help with complex and complicated problems I felt only I could solve.
This answer has taken a colossally long time to complete as I could not answer it with good faith until I felt all grounds had been absolutely covered, and all possibilities explored - not because Dwarf Fortress is a hard game to play, but it is very, very hard to get into, and get people into.
Thank you, if you've made it this far, for reading over my story, and checking out my guide.
Love, always,
Mod %
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nnibarrel · 14 days
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So... Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy. My recent obsession. Let's go! I'll try to do it without significant spoilers.
Carefull, long post under the cut!
First of All. Amadeuses Kids! They grew up! UWU. They're such cute little young fireball casters. Omg, that's almost like watching your nephews grow, they feel so much like a family...
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That game series has been with me since I was a child and as I remember Trine (part 1) was my first (real) videogame! And now when I play Trine 5 it cures my soul so much, right when I needed it. It's like... Has a Tolkien vibe for me. I mean in the sense that It's too fairy tail outside, it may look childish, but it has layers! I really like the plot, it hit me right in the heart and made me reflect. And I was struggling with dark thoughts on Future and Trine's perspective on the global world's problems made me smile and hope for the best... Really thank you, trine team, you're awesome :D Where there's people who share your concerns and put it in the work of art like that and make witty satire on it that's precious. I have returned some of my faith in humanity now. 
Well, maybe some people may not see what I saw or just won't feel such weight, cause my recent experience made me stump on it, so well I need to say that plot in general... Dramatic. I was impressed How it manages to balance at the edge of magical fairy tail and life drama (OR that's again me and my pains. Anyway...) STRONG twists and things at stake. Heroes encounter both global threat and personal challenges (all three of them, but poor wizard, he got it the most. But he's so silly old man, I'm crying) (Zoya, my girl, I love you...) (Pontius... You're just perfect, I'm proud of you, example of a real knight :D)
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Character writing is amazing, they REALLY feel alive.
For example: Amadeus marries a woman after he became a hero and throughout the whole game series he mentions that, then he mentions their kids and, like i mentioned now, now we see how they grew up! And in fifth's game due to plot he misses his triplets greatly and in the forest three heroes meet a fox with three little foxes... And Amadeus is like "oh no, I'm a terrible father" 😭
And there's a lot of cute normal or giant animals in the game series, we're helping them and then they come up and help us. Such lightsome game, I can't/// Those animals... Uwu/// (Just a little detail but I wanted to mention that...)
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What I like else about the narrative: humor :D For demonstration I just let Pontius to show himself:
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And now when I've let out my shouts...
*sights* AaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAA. Another round, Friends :D
I. Worship. Those. Artists. They are geniuses. Screenshots speak for themself, I guess.
Design, artwork and effects... No, I can't describe it in words, again, I just pray on it. So damn enchanting. I literally dream to be like those artists who work on this series. (And that's a threat) When I think of it, well, maybe THAT magic inspired me to be who I am right now...
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Magic observatory where's pictures of butterflies there and there... ARE YOU DESNAN, WIZARDS???
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And those just killed me. Episode in a dark place with the sudden rays of hope... I was just. Aaaah... So beautiful both by art and location's story.  Replica of the second screenshot: "It's rare that ghosts are on our side. Usually we and undead are not on good terms." What did I tell you? :D Tolkien vibe!
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So who got through my post till the end... Please, please get to know those game series. I didn't mention it at all above but It's also a genius of gameplay. It's a platformer with (some) fighting and (a lot of) puzzles. Also. It's thrice (:D) fun in coop.
AND. Music. Won't say much about it either but It's a genius magical masterpiece. I guarantee you: Trine soundtrack will find its way to your playlist.
P. S. Will I do fanart on trine? Maybe... Maybe... You know, I just have that strange thing: some stories are "sacred" in my brain so I can't Just sit and draw cause I'm constantly stressed out if it turns out bad or worse: not how I imagined it. Same with Tolkien books, btw. In fandom since childhood, (if you count that, if not - from adolescents and first steps to the internet) and no single drawing. (not single real drawing at least)
But! I have Nine Parchments fanart :D
Oooh. And. I have THEM in frame. Art from my friend who gifted it to me at postcrossing some time after we played Trine 4 (and then the whole game series) together! It was such a pleasant surprise!
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The end. ❤️❤️❤️
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sigmabateman · 9 months
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thank you so much @velvetcrowbar444 for tagging me to talk about 5 things im obsessed with at the moment!!
this got longer than i anticipated so im putting it under the cut, but for simplicity's sake i'll tag people up here: @nights-decay, @boycentriccplot, @flaming-tsunami, @sourgelatin no pressure though of course!
persona 5... ok i have to be honest ive been really reluctant to talk about this on here and its why ive been quiet the past at least week or so. no idea why. i guess cause its so different from the stuff i usually post about that i feel like, embarrassed? but i started playing persona 5 royal around may and really liked it but i didnt have the time to properly get into it until now and it has completely taken over my life entirely without me even realising. to be honest i could obsess over like a rock on the ground if i saw it at the right time in my life but hands down persona 5 is one the best if not the best game ive ever played in my life. the story is engaging, the characters are distinctive and realistic and i really really care about all of them, the gameplay is so much fun and combat is buttery fucking smooth like nothing ive ever played before, the music is top tier and what got me interested in the game in the first place, and the ART DIRECTION. it speaks for itself to be honest ESPECIALLY compared to the older games. i was shocked starting persona 4 because of how different it is to persona 5 like, persona 5 has SUCH a distinct visual identity as well as tone, themes, imagery etc it is all just so stunning and perfect and i want to live in it. but i think about it so often like literally 24/7 that i may as well be. i <3 persona 5 and i <3 YUSUKE KITAGAWA. he's definitely my favourite character and he came out of NOWHERE but hes actually everything in the world to me. one of the characters ever.
persona 4 is it a copout to say that? i did try and condense both games into one bullet point but 1. they're such a mainstay in my life right now i was struggling to think of more points and 2. it kind of lost its precision and didn't effectively convey just how personapilled i am right now. i originally wasn't gonna play 4, all i knew is that it was more difficult and less good so i thought i should stay away. but if you go anywhere persona-related on the internet (which i would warn against, the fandom is a fucking cesspit the likes of which i havent seen in a long time as an obscure-shit-enjoyer) you'll quickly run into adachi. and as a lover of men with high-pitched voices and sexypedia entries... i couldn't stay away. before even starting the game i had made a d6 and d20 with different adachis on each face so really it was just a matter of time. and you know what... it's not that bad. the graphics were a SHOCKING step down but i find the low(er) poly style really charming. the adachi model is too cute T_T whenever i see it in the game world i just wanna sit with it for ages. i wonder if i could get it like 3d printed so i could keep him on my desk with me at all times... its bad for me ! the combat is fucking clunky espeically compared to 5 and i kind of hate it but that just makes it more rewarding when i can finally stop LOL. some of the characters (especially the main few (yosuke, chie, yukiko)) took a bit to grow on me but its kind of sweet.. its like authentic.. our relationship is growing as i get to know them better... but dojima and nanako ive loved since i first set eyes on them. too cute. it makes me feel so fatherless. its like.. a lot more magnetic than i expected it to be. i love it even with all its flaws. i saw a meme about it being like twin peaks and thats kind of so real. and you know i love a murder mystery... so yeah tldr i like persona now. but its hard to talk about it on here because it is such a big fandom but not like an active one like spiderman or like good omens or whatever slightly more normal people are watching so its kind of intimidating. maybe ill get over myself, maybe ill go silent for 3 months until i get into something new. we'll see i guess LOL
my gender identity TUMBLR MOMENT I KNOW but i dont know.. ive had a lot of time to myself recently and its kind of brought things to the surface that i just didnt have time or space to think about before. turns out there was a LOT OF STUFF i was repressing without even knowing. like that tweet 'im probably nonbinary but i have a job so idrc about that rn'. i posted on instagram "gender around cis people: boy, gender around trans people: girlboy, gender by myself: computer program" and that kind of sums it up i think. can i coin like.. complicatedgender. where your answer to the question "whats your gender?" is "it's complicated..." cause thats me. its just COMPLICATED okay!!!! but my pronouns havent changed or anything so its chilllllll
going to bed at a reasonable time. i phrased that like a joke answer but its true. i downloaded pokemon sleep and now i go to bed at 11:30pm cause at 11 i get a notification saying my pokemon are sleepy and shit i gotta take care of my pokemon!! i dont even know if its doing me any good to be honest like i dont feel much better when i wake up but making myself get into bed and shut my eyes means more thinking time and to be honest my favourite activity is thinking. even if as silly as it sounds i never give myself time to do it. its playing a weirdly big role in my life rn so yeah id say im obsessed with it!!!
this asmr video. im secretly always posting about asmr so really i could just say that, but like, ASMR | The Mortician (No Talking – You're Dead) specifically is such a mainstay i can feel its influence seeping into my life like an infection. this video would actually show up in my recommended for YEARS but i never watched it. gave me a major ick for some reason. but then i got into this guys stuff and saw it again and thought id give it a go and now its like an extra limb. fuck my 3rd bullet point, this is my gender identity. i could not articulate in words what it is about the mortician that i love so much, but i really really do. i am certifiably obsessed. cant believe i made it through this whole thing without mentioning alex. but there you are. yay this was fun :D
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biggrump · 4 months
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Video Games I played in 2023 (and maybe even enjoyed)
A completely unorganized list of games I played this year that I wanted to talk about because they were great.
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1. Ultrakill - My biggest time sink of the year. Found out about this game about a year ago due to FUNKe talking about it a lot. Was hooked from the first level, and after beating it I replayed several levels until I mastered the mechanics, then looked for all the secret levels, then P-ranked all of Act 1 and then the P-1 boss fight several times over (Act 2 is hard to P-rank). However enjoyment did kinda dry up for a bit after I actually got good at the game but then Hakita dropped the first part of act 3 a while ago and it started all over again. Here's hoping the last 2 chapters stick the landing and keep scratching that itch (which they probably will let's be honest)
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2. Metal Gear Solid series - Played all of the games aside from 4 which couldn't run on my PC (had to watch a long play for it) and Peace Walker just cause I got distracted by other stuff. The first game didn't really resonate with me on a deeper level but its storytelling, gameplay mechanics, and 4th wall breaks are amazing, especially for the time. 2 and 3 hit far harder and are some of the best games I've ever played. I could talk for hours about every facet of 2's creativity with its meta narrative and constant questioning of reality but then I wouldn't have time to talk about other games here. Just know that it is now my favorite game ever made. 3, while not quite as crazy and predictive with its plot, is just a really good story about a small group of characters that is incredibly written and told. I also really enjoyed 5's gameplay and a lot of the more subtle storytelling, and while 4 has an utterly incomprehensible plot with tons of holes, the character writing, voice acting, and graphics are phenomenal. I want whatever Kojima smokes when he comes up with these.
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3. Red Dead Online - I played this with my brother and encountered a modder on my first day. Think that really informed my take on this game because he gave me a shit ton of money and I was able to use it to get a bounty license which took up most of my time in that game. We'd just queue up a bounty mission and play some Oingo Boingo and Talking Heads while we ride, do the bounty, then watch random videos while we waited till the last minute to drop off the bounty bc of how Rockstar decided to set up the system. We also met a couple people online and overall just had a great experience bein a rootin tootin shootin cowboy. Also my guy looks doofy as fuck.
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4. The Artful Escape - Impulse bought this game after I watched a vid by Jexonite where he played every game published by Annapurna because the premise seemed fun and I thought it looked cool. Turns out the game does look cool, incredible even. But the art style is kind of all this game has going for it, aside from some solid voice actors (Jason Schwartzman and Lena Headey were cool and Mark Strong was completely unrecognizable). Gameplay is basically just a walking sim that occasionally tells you to press buttons to play notes on your guitar and the story took a pretty generic turn. Has absolutely zero replay value but I did enjoy playing it.
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5. BPM - The first roguelike I've ever gotten into, probably because it has a guns in it. I got all the way up to the last level then died to a low level enemy and have not gotten that far in the game since. The OST goes insanely hard though and is part of the reason why I keep coming back to it. It's also insanely addicting so be warned.
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6. Hotline Miami - Probably holds the record for the game that pissed me off the most this year. An insanely fun and fast paced shooter game where your reaction timing is everything and that every nerd with a YouTube channel has already picked apart. Even though some of the AI is complete jank it is so satisfying clearing rooms in this game. The art style is also quite good and the soundtrack introduced me to a ton of new artists. Also is a strong case for environmental storytelling needing to be more prevalent in games. I can figure out what's going on I'm a smart guy.
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7. Katana Zero - A very Hotline Miami inspired game aka a game with a pixelated art style and a synthwave soundtrack where the goal is to clear rooms and you die in one hit. I feel a bit more mixed about this game compared to Hotline honestly. I really liked the time slowing mechanic, the mobility, and the way you can reflect bullets with your sword. I also like how the enemy AI actually stays consistent through each run of the level, whereas with Hotline there were some enemies who could move erratically and fuck everything up even if you plan a solid route. However, I think because of how the story was told I don't think it had as much of an impact on me. I can't really remember a lot of the important details but I can remember that a lot of plot threads were left unresolved. Also, while I do like the combat a lot, I feel like it's missing the sandbox approach that Hotline had. Honestly not a game I would necessarily come back to, but if the dev made a sequel I would buy it (especially if we get to play as Dragon more he was cool as fuck). I'll also give the game props for actually having an OST unlike Hotline.
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8. Undertale - What could I say about this game that hasn't already been said by the entire population of South Dakota? It is very fun and I am glad I finally took the plunge and played it. Now I just have to finish the other routes at some point lol
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9. Lethal Company - I played this game with multiple friend groups and it was incredibly fun but also terrifying. If you haven't played yet, the best advice I can give is to just go in completely blind and figure shit out on your own. Also, try to actually go into the buildings instead of staying in the ship like a goo goo ga ga dingus.
Other stuff I played worth mentioning (Smaller stuff or games I revisited/haven't finished a full playthrough of):
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1. A Hat in Time DLC - Played the original game late last year and loved it, but didn't get the DLC so I didn't play it for some time. Played it this year and had a blast. The Nyakuza Metro level is so detailed, you can really tell the devs poured their heart and soul into making this game look as great as it does. Made me rediscover my love for the base game.
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2. Titanfall 2 - Not my first time playing it but replayed the single player on PC for the first time (played on Xbox before) and realized the characters and level design were way better than I remembered. I then started pestering everyone I knew to play it and the ones who did seem to like it too. I also popped off multiple times in the multiplayer so it was nice to have a multiplayer game that I'm good at.
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3. The Magic Circle - Played for a few hours and then stopped, but the premise is quite fun and I am eager to revisit at some point in the future.
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4. The Looker - This one was just funny idrk what else to say. (I have not played The Witness)
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styrmwb · 4 days
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I beat Slayers X
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losers........ scroll away. u cant HANDEL how cool this game is....
Hypnospace Outlaw is one of my favorite indie games of all time (Slay the Spire is also up there, these two are the peak for me). When I found out there was a sequel I was hyped. It only took my brain... a little under a year to actually play it XD (I gave Hypnospace another playthrough a few days ago cause I never got 100% or did the Plus content so that helped). But giving me more hypnospace universe (the trennisverse, as I've heard) goodness in the form of a game created, in character, by Zane? Fucking Outstanding. I've never really been a boomer shooter guy, so this was like... technically my first one played? I had a blast the whole way through, regardless.
gameplay......
Again, never actually played with my own two hands a boomer shooter before, but of course I've watched Doom gameplay, I've played more modern FPSs. I knew what I was getting myself into, and it felt super easy to maneuver. The weapons were all really fun, and I actually got to feel like each one had its own use, although the Glass Blasta and the Rapid Mutilator were my personal favorites, for power and mobility reasons alike. I loved the map design, which wasn't constant enemies and perpetual combat like I was expecting. There was a lot of downtime that let me explore, see the details put into everything, and to look for secrets. That was my favorite part of the gameplay for sure, although I'm sure for some people they might not like those slower parts and how hard some of the secrets were to find. I know I struggled a bit on some, but I still liked it. I played on the normal difficulty, which felt like it gave me enough of a challenge and enough time to breathe. It was the perfect mix.
atmosfear....
The theming of the game was FUCKING perfect. Hypnospace crushed it with the vibe of early internet forums, and Zane was spot on for a stupid edgy 15 year old of the time. They already mastered the execution, and they got to expand on it further here. The misspellings, the nu metal soundtrack, the graphics, the toilet humor and crude but just innocent enough dialogue, it all gets the vibe exactly correct. Hell, even in real life, with Zane being the irl creator of the game, his twitter, and the way that he advertises his game is perfect. If you don't know what you're getting into, you're gonna think this game is stupid, and I know this cause I've seen quite a few people just not understand what the bit is, and the bit is 50% of the enjoyment of the game. I love it, though. Can't wait for more of this energy in the future.
musik (awsome)
Growing up in the 2000s with younger parents, the general nu metal genre and anything in that era is what I listened to growing up, so this shit is NOSTALGIC for me. I love every song in the game, I love how dirty and rancid it sounds, they literally already got it perfect in Hypnospace, and Slayers X just gives me even more of what I already love. When you're not in combat and you're just walking around, the rock takes a backside for this creepy atmospheric noise which really makes the levels, showing the dingy nature and the (literal) shit. The bonus levels have different soundtracks that get that Doom level sound perfect, which I really appreciated as well.
characterz... (Zane, the coolest guy, and those other idiots.....)
I LOVE how this game's cast feels. The in universe explanations for everything really enhances it. Zane is still that same immature child he was years ago, the game is full of his ego, but you can see in his like, dev dialogue, that he has in fact aged and mellowed out, which is really sweet and saddening to see. The same kid who made bullying pages is now a single dad who clearly loves his kid even if he's not the sharpest tool in the shed, and is dealing with a lot of hardships in life. Like the original game, it's a surface of humor with a really deep inside. You get more of his character by seeing the rest of the cast. Mevin is creepy, obviously evil, definitely not inspired by anyone irl, and Zane's way of physically lashing out at his struggles. Steffanie literally sounds like there's 0 effort being put into her lines, and combined with the secret with Adam, the person that helped Zane code the game, showing annoyance yet still helping him shows that this dude is pathetic but... there's still something in him that makes people want to help him anyways. Mikey is also in on this, putting WAY more effort than anyone would ever need to in this game, but you can tell because of that that there's just something ABOUT Zane that people can't help but want to push him forward for some reason. Again, it's heartwarming and sad, and I love that.
the rest, ig uess...
I don't really know what else to say that I haven't already said; I love this game. It gives me more of what I loved out of Hypnospace, although hyperspecified to Zane (not complaining)
I DO HAVE TO ADMIT THOUGH, I HAVE A SERIOUS BIAS CAUSE ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS HELPED MAKE IT AND I LOVE TO SEE HER WORK, SHE MADE SOME OF THE LEVELS AND SOME OF THE SOUNDTRACK AND SHE'S SUPER COOL AND AWESOME AND SKILLED SHOUTOUTS TO @headachelikeapillow YOU'RE THE BEST
I got a little easter egg in the game which is super cool :) It warms my heart to see my name lead into a fuckin saw chamber (that has literally stopped every streamer I've ever seen play that level in their tracks, it's hilarious)
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sorry if I'm breaking an nda you can kill me if you need
Anyways, with that aside;
10/10. BADASS GAME MADE BY THE AWESOMEST DUDE AROUND.... HELL BE RICH AND FAMOUS FOR SURE AND GET ALL THE GIRLS (LIKE HE DOESNT ALREADY BWL)
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seventeendeer · 1 year
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I still haven't gotten into rain world, I played it for an hour or so but it was a bit too slow paced to really grab me at the time. I really wanted to like it but I haven't touched it since. can you convince me?
I will convince you AND anyone else reading this who might be interested in rain world !! >:3c or at least try to lol
quick summary for anyone unfamiliar: Rain World is an indie sidescroller where you play as a little animal trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. the player characters, 'slugcats', must eat enough food during the short dry seasons to be able to hibernate through the deadly torrential rain seasons - without getting eaten by bigger animals. as you venture deeper into the game, you learn more about the long-gone civilization whose ruins you're now traversing.
reasons to play Rain World and stick with it despite the frankly harrowing difficulty:
the atmosphere! the nature-is-reclaiming-but-boy-is-it-harsh atmosphere is my personal favorite part of the game. the world only becomes stranger the further you delve into the game. old ruins, old worlds, old religions, old mistakes, old ghosts ... all in a world that feels lush and new and alive despite.
music is used sparingly, but it's gorgeous when it's there, especially during cutscenes
speaking of which, the cutscenes are essentially beautiful digitally painted slideshows. again, full of atmosphere and feeling
the game itself has a deliberately coarse, almost brutalist look, which I think fits the vibe extremely well. unusually for these types of games, all character animation is generated in real time, with each part of a character's body being affected by physics. this creates some very fluid, realistic animation and some ... frankly very janky gameplay, that nonetheless feels very satisfying when you get the hang of it. the learning curve is steep, but once you get really good at movement, you can zoom around the map at much-higher speed!
it may not look like it on the surface, but this game got crazy good AI. it's more or less a fully functioning, procedurally generated ecosystem. every individual enemy lives its own life, including off-screen. each type of enemy has its own unique personality (members of sapient species even have unique personalities generated for each individual!), and almost every being in the game is programmed to try to feed and find shelter before the rain returns, just like the player. the vast majority of beings in the game also develop a relationship to the player that changes depending on how you behave around them - you can actually tame enemy animals and make friends with sapient species! or you can kill enough of a species to destabilize the ecosystem, causing invasive species to appear, among other things. the AI is super intricate and complex, and I highly recommend looking up how it works, just so you can fully understand what you're experiencing in-game. a lot of things that seem random are decidedly not. it's deeply fascinating!!
while it's light on story and there's very little dialogue, what is there is strange, abstract and very poignant. it's a "glass half full" type of story at best, but the almost ... tender(?) way the bleak story is handled really made it stick with me personally. I highly recommend seeing the story through, if nothing else by watching someone else's playthrough. it goes some truly mysterious places that I at least in no way predicted.
as much as I personally love this game, I do also have to disclaim that it's not ... perfect. it's a niche game (I think?) for a reason. the fans love it for the same reasons critics hate it - it's hard, it's weird, it consciously refuses to conform to a lot of the traditional principles of what makes a "good game", and its near-total lack of in-game tutorials makes it almost hostile to new players. it frequently leaps back and forth between "hard, but worth it" and "I will give you 2 dollars if you climb that telephone pole 47 times!" type difficulty, and all you can really do to combat it is to pick and choose which challenges are enjoyable to you and which to leave alone.
I personally gave up on the hard mode campaign completely because I wasn't having fun - the standard campaign was already difficult for me. I also looked up a lot of the lore that is technically available in-game because I found the way to obtain it to be a boring grind at my current skill level.
Rain World is difficult and not in a balanced, fair way, like Dark Souls or Hollow Knight. it will fuck you over at the drop of a hat, for no reason, with no way to recover. it will render the last two hours of gameplay moot if you screw up in the last five minutes. it is not always, strictly speaking, a "well-designed game."
but it is a beautiful game, an immersive game, brimming with emotion right under the steely surface, and if you enjoy simply being in the world and you want to learn more about it, I highly recommend sticking with it in whatever capacity is fun for you.
and then look up all the lore you missed by being a rational person + watch some video essays on youtube about how that insane AI works because understanding what's going under the hood of this game is going to make the slow-paced parts SO much more exciting
everyone who likes fucked up animal stories and getting their shit dismantled by RNG ad nauseum go play rain world right NOW it's FANTASTIC and I LOVE IT SO MUCHH IT'S SO SPECIAL DESPITE THE. THE ALL THAT. THE PAIN
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g0ttal0ve101 · 6 months
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Doctor in the House
Prompt: Sick
Ship: Caria
Note: THEY’RE SO SPECIAL TO ME…. tw: suggestive :3
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Everything was hot no matter what Mia did. Pulled the covers off? Still hot. Opened the window? Still hot. Pulled her hair up? Still hot. Even taking a cold shower didn’t fix the heat that she felt in her head. The only thing that could regulate her temperature was the loving palm of her boyfriend’s hand.
With her head rested on his lap, she observed him play video games for the hundredth time, his fingers lingering in her hair as he waited for the load screen to flash into gameplay. Mia enjoyed listening to his humorous commentary and watching him kill tons of players without breaking a sweat, but it wasn’t quite what she wanted. Mia hates having to ask for what she wanted. So, without reason or cause, she randomly sat up and playfully shoved Carl off the bed with a thump to the floor, killing his character instantly on the screen.
“Miaaa…” He groaned, dusting his clothes and shutting the game off. His hand-me-down pajama pants sagged off his waist quite a bit, revealing his alien boxers as he stood in front of the bed. Being as comfortable as he was with her, he didn’t bother to check if they were sagging or even put a shirt on to hide his skinny, freckly body. “You could’ve just asked for my attention. I wouldn’t have laughed.”
Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he pulled her in for a lengthy embrace. Mia rested her forehead against his collarbone with a smile, muffling the heat that rose in her skull every three seconds. Carl’s freckled skin was the cure to her illness. Shit, Carl’s freckled skin was the cure to everything.
“You’re really hot, honey.” Carl worriedly muttered, stroking her blonde locks of hair with the back of his hand. He half-expected her to reply with a playful ‘I know I am’ and return to her normal self, but she remained silent instead. His heart throbbed realizing how much she must be suffering if she didn’t have a sense of humor. “I think we should give you some more medicine.”
“Fuck…” Mia groaned and rolled her eyes, flopping onto their mattress with a deep sigh. “That shit tastes like ass and takes me out for six hours!”
Folding his arms against his chest, he tried his hardest to think of a different antidote. However, as he did any other time, he came up short. He reached for the bottle of liquid medication and ignored his girlfriend’s whining, pouring it into a spoon for her to take. He nearly spilled it on himself twice before it made it to her lips.
Carl tapped her forehand with his index finger. “Come on, dummy. Open up,” he huffed with a pout. It only worsened whenever she flipped him off and laid back down. “Mia, dude, do you wanna get better or not?”
Not if it meant taking that shit again. Being too tired to bicker with him, she groaned and sat back up, putting the spoon in her mouth hurriedly. The flavor hit her in the back of her throat. She gagged and fell onto the bed, causing Carl to merely laugh at her dramatics.
“It’s not that bad.”
“Where did your mom get that shit from? The fucking black market?” Her voice was hoarse and raspy, sending a strange chill down Carl’s spine.
“Maybe. It works like a charm. We’ve been using this stuff since I was a baby.” He examined the bottle, perhaps remembering all the times he was forced to use its contents. Carl was sickly child, always coughing or having a low fever. That taste lingered in his mouth nearly every week of the winter seasons. Hopefully it worked for his girlfriend too.
An idea sparked in mind when reminiscing, jumping from the mattress and rushing to the door. Mia jerked up in fear that something was astray. “What? What’re you doing?”
“I’ll be right back!”
And with that, he was gone. Mia suffered with the taste dancing on her tongue, burying her face deep within the pillow while moaning and groaning. In a spur of being delirious, she grabbed onto Carl’s jacket and held it close to her face. It smelled good. The heat in her cheeks raised temperature when thinking about how stupid she looked doing something like this, especially since he was probably just going to the bathroom or something one hall away. However, she couldn’t manage her illness without him. His absence only made her sicker.
That being said, she clutched onto the fabric and muffled out a few bitter words. “Dickhead,” she spat in a fury of frustration. In reality, she missed him.
Almost as if that were his legal name, her boyfriend came bursting into the room moments later. He held a huge tub of ice cream in one hand, the other stacked to the brim with candy. Kicking the door shut with his foot and toppling over his own feet, he handed the container to her with a cheeky smile. It was almost pathetic how proud he was for thinking this up.
“I know you like chocolate the best.” Carl cooed while plopping down beside her, planting his hand on her forehead to regulate her temperature again. “I got gummy worms and Oreos to put on top. I wasn’t sure which you wanted, so I just grabbed both. It should help make you feel less hot and get that flavor out of your mouth.”
Mia’s eyes practically glowed from the sight of the dessert. She peeled off the lid and dug the spoon into its contents, beyond ready to dispose of the flavor on her tongue. Before she did this, however, she had a much more wicked idea. A smirk rose to her face.
“I know another way to get it out.” She hummed, trailing her fingers down Carl’s frail chest. He gulped and blushed like an idiot as she leaned in closer and closer, eventually connecting their lips together. Suddenly, Carl knew the taste she was talking about. He pulled away faster than she could start laughing. “Told you so. Ain’t that nasty?”
With a pitiful expression, he nodded frantically. Mia could only giggle and pinch his round cheek, teasing him as they both knew damn well he wouldn’t deny her.
“You know I love you. Thank you for taking such good care of me, baby.”
“Mmh…whatever.” Carl mumbled while watching her stick the spoon into her parted lips. A smirk appeared on his face when seeing it. “Maybe I’ll get one of those sexy nurse costumes next time.”
Nearly spraying the ice cream everywhere while containing her laughter, Mia placed her hand over her mouth. Carl chuckled a little and watched her struggle, pleased with himself.
“Suddenly I need a hot nurse to check up on my tits.” Mia snickered with a suggestive tone entwined in her voice.
Wrapping his arms around her shoulders with a smug grin glued to his face, he batted his eyelashes slowly.“Good thing there’s a doctor in the house…”
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clockworkrobotic · 1 year
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The Tragic Saga of the Goncharov Tie-In Game (1995)
so since everyone has discovered goncharov i get to talk about a personal fascination of mine, which is the wild n wacky tale of the goncharov video game tie in. If youre thinking "what the hell are you talking about, there wasn't a video game tie in" theres a reason for that, bear with me
so the game came out sometime around 1995 (different sources place it at various points between 1994 and 1995), and it was one of the first properties to be licenced by sony for a console. It was originally planned to be a SNES-CD release until that console was cancelled, at which point it was ported to the playstation. if youre wondering why goncharov got a tie in like twenty years after the film released, that's kind of why it's so unheard of. sony was testing the waters with its new hardware to see if there was an older audience for gaming, and a few investors were willing to put some money behind the idea. it was actually pretty well-funded all things considered, with a budget of around $1.1m, and the gameplay was similar to that of goldeneye, which released a couple of years later. it was also fairly sophisticated, featuring branching decision trees and several different endings (I think 4? there isn't a lot of gameplay footage available, but there were at least 4)
unfortunately, development was plagued with problems from the get go. Despite its healthy budget, the studio couldn't convince any of the original cast to return to do voice work. Of course they couldn't, the film was two decades old -- you think harvey keitel was gonna bail on pulp fiction to appear in some experimental video game? of course not. so the dev team went for the next best thing: soundalikes.
the problem is, the soundalike VAs they hired weren't used to doing longform work. don't get me wrong, they did their darndest, but their experience was very much rooted in things like radio commercials and short voiceovers. they hadn't really had to act before. oh, and all but one of them hadn't seen the movie. the anecdote goes that they showed up on day one expecting a couple of days work tops, and much to their shock were handed several dozen pages of script (remember the decision trees? branching dialogue baby) and told they were employed for the next six months. Good for them, I think?
The voice acting really suffered from this. a lot of it feels very stilted, it ruins the immersion. yknow how in elder scrolls oblivion all the voice lines were recorded in alphabetical order? It sounds similar to that (altho personally i think the goncharov voice acting is a bit better lol). the directors and actors really struggled to pull everything together.
the result was that, while the game itself definitely wasn't bad, it was outright innovative in places, critics really couldn't get past the baffling performances, which they near-unanimously agreed made the game a slog. someone suggested the game should be played on mute with goncharov the film playing on a second tv, though went on to say that you wouldn't even finish the game then, because you'd just end up watching the far superior goncharov film instead. The game flopped, causing its global release to be cancelled, and was only ever distributed in the UK, Australia, and Japan.
the game had a brief stint as a cult classic, garnering a small online fandom in the early days on the internet. there is allegedly an italian fan translation out there somewhere, although a copy has never surfaced and it is considered lost media. a couple of people have come forward claiming to have worked on it -- they also claim to have met in the neopets forums of all places. i believe them -- and there are a couple of youtube videos showcasing what appears to be an italian fandub, but without the game files it's not possible to know whether theyre real or edited in post.
so now you know the story of goncharov the movie the game, my favourite game i've never played and probably never will. while it may well have been a missed opportunity, i like to think it paved the way for such classics as enter the matrix, and ratatouille the movie the game, and what would the world be like without them?
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whumpitisthen · 7 months
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here's a quick rundown on astarion: gay vampire spawn (not a vampire. like a demo version vampire. a "lesser" one but don't let him hear that) who has been kept for 200 years by his master as a slave. guy (who was an actual vampire) carved him up, tortured him and forced him to lure victims into his manor. astarion has been abused in so many ways i'd hit some sort of character limit if i listed half of them. he was only allowed to feet on rats and small vermin in the sewers. poor little meow meow astarion is now free due to [game story] reasons and seeks power and revenge -- he's an edgy fuck with a lot of swag and no moral compass. bro is a menace and loves causing problems on purpose. [slight spoiler] he will literally try to suck some of your blood like a day or two after you meet him and unless you succeed a skill check he'll just keep doing it until you die. if you resurrect yourself afterwards he'll go like "ooooh ooopsie sowwy! i wouldn't kill you if i knew you'll be back teehee can we forget about this? ;) <3 don't fucking kill me". he's such a good fucking whumpee you don't even know. it's insane. i don't want to ramble but he's almost everything i've ever wanted from a character like this in a large scale rpg. [slightly bigger spoiler] despite being the go-to "fuckable" character who everyone finds hot as hell (both in-universe and online) he's HORRIBLY traumatized by his sexual experiences from when he used to be a slave and when you romance him a good portion of his storyline revolves around trying to make him realize that he's more than just a slab of very attractive meat. he hides his feelings behind a facade of "evil tumblr sexyman-esque" mannierisms and getting to finally peel it back and see him for the poor wet cat that he is is so fucking satisfying. [an even bigger spoiler] i loved watching him cry when he finally gets to confront his former master. pristine content. there's so much more to his character (and this game in general) but if you ever need to justify spending full price on a new videogame release, there's nothing better than bg3. if i could choose one game to beam directly into the brain of each whumpblr user, it'd be this one.
Okay so i already loved him from the very little information i had about him, but this is so delicious
I saw some pics of bad scars which are always hhh and heard that he is a whumpee but i didn't know the extent and now i think ive collected a new blorbo
You are telling me he meets his old master at some point...... and he cries..... and hes all sad....... he rly was made for tumblr but especially me youre telling me he has white hair and is a vampire twink who was a slave and hurt and traumatised and he has incredible sad wet cat energy and he only has a flimsy layer of confidence and absolutely no idea what morals are. i knew i needed to know more you have to understand my knowledge of the game stopped at the bear sex scene like that is it and yet i somehow always find the most pathetic little men no matter what in any media i could not give a shit about any of the rest i will consume the entire thing just to know the exact extent of his sad little life
Also i wish i had the opportunity to even consider buying a full price new release no matter how good the game is there is no world in which id be able to pay for that. Also idk about the gameplay either it seems very story oriented roleplay and almost dating sim-ish? Not a huge fan of those in general its gotta have more gameplay than walking around and basically watching a movie, but, again. No idea about anything, maybe it has incredible gameplay and i just dont know. Dont tell me if it does itll just make ms sadder bc that would absolutely make me wanna play it myself. Its kinda funny honestly the longer i spend not knowing anything the crazier everyone seems to me both online and irl. Its like im living in a separate world, i know no one who hasn't played this fucking game fjfhskhfd
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rivalsforlife · 5 months
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I finished the new persona 5 tactica game and its dlc in 7 days which is faster than most people with their priorities in order, so I am ahead of all of my friends and therefore am going to dump all my spoilery opinions here.
The gameplay was fun (I played on easy mode because I am a baby) and I liked making triangles. that was definitely the most satisfying part of the game when I could make triangles and wipe out every enemy on the board at once. I felt like a god. I liked seeing these characters again, I like them, I like getting little insights into their lives.
I can't say that the story was """objectively""" bad but it did a lot of things that just kind of irritated me / felt sloppy / holy shit this is some of the worst Women Writing in a franchise I wouldn't say has particularly stellar Women Writing.
To begin with, I will list off my predictions going into this game based off of trailers:
-This is obviously taking place inside this toshiro guy's brain and/or he's the one who is causing all of this.
-all the villains are going to be Evil People In His Life
-first boss Marie is going to be his wife/fiancee, but it's some kind of political marriage type deal. second boss is going to be some kind of mentor/boss. probably run into a character that is going to be his teacher at some point when the school arc hits
-erina is based on a real person in his life as well who was involved in whatever sort of rebellion toshiro did outside of all this.
This is practically exactly what happens in the game, with the exception that I got the second boss's identity wrong (he's the father, which in hindsight I should've guessed from the start - instead I guessed as soon as Toshiro brought up that his father arranged his marriage).
It might be my fault for watching the trailers before playing but in my defense this game is extremely predictable. Like I said, I guessed the second boss's identity before he even showed up in the game. I think it became pretty apparent this was toshiro's fault early into the game.
uh what else. first kingdom I didn't love much because it felt very repetitive and like it went on for too long. as I wrote in discord after finishing it:
toshiro and erina are both fine but a lot of it is like. extremely predictable and blatant about it. like I could guess marie's whole deal from the trailers so it's a lot of "yeah we know. yeah we know" and it feels weird how the phantom thieves haven't yet at all guessed that toshiro is the cause of this when it feels like that's deefinitely how they're going to end up. a lot of the early segments felt repetitive (toshiro "oh no we should run away why would we risk getting hurt" erina "but we have to stand up for what is right!" toshiro "!" repeat endlessly until close to the end of the kingdom). and I definitely did not enjoy marie as a villain, she's so cartoonishly evil that it just kind of got to the point of exhaustion. comparing her as a first-game villain to someone like kamoshida for example, both are horrible people, but seeing kamoshida in real life and his actions in real life and how it was affecting everyone, despite him being fairly one-dimensional as a villain, made him an extremely hateable but very effective villain. I did not feel any of that for marie I was just sick of her. I'm hoping the game steps it up a bit moving forward bc I think the "not seeing the villains in reality aside from a few brief glimpses" thing might be rough on that aspect
I played the DLC after the first kingdom, which was a mistake because they have the same credits as the full game meaning I got spoiled on Yuki being related to him somehow. I thought she was a sister, maybe, until the moment toshiro brought up that his mom was dead, and then it was pretty obvious but it took the game FOREVER to actually state this.
Yuki's writing is where I really started to lose it because her character trait is Mother. There's nothing else. I actually laughed a bit when she jumped in front of that beam to protect toshiro because literally where else could it possibly be going. at this time I declared her "the most fridged persona character ever". this was, perhaps, naive.
THIRD KINGDOM. the introduction of eri natsuhara who dragged erina down with her. we have now completed the "bitch wife - mother - manic pixie dream girl" trifecta of shitty female character writing tropes. And I don't think it would bother me quite so much if they didn't go for all three in the same game and none of those three seemed to have any amount of motivation outside of toshiro.
Like again I'm not going to claim that persona has ever had stellar female character writing, but they typically at least manage to have the characters have some amount of traits outside of whatever guy they're associated with...? They have some characters I really like (Futaba, Yukari, Mitsuru as examples off the top of my head) and most at least have some part of their character arc as an individual one.
I guess the closest I could compare Eri's whole thing to is Aigis, but Aigis at least had a good part of her character arc independent, tying into the overall "meaning of life" theme, trying to figure out her own purpose and soul and ending up on "wanting to protect the protagonist" isn't bad because the game is about friends giving you the meaning of life. aigis contributes a lot thematically and I think her character arc makes sense. at least in my view.
I did not see any reason for Eri to be the supportive character to Toshiro's whole deal, but she's like "I'm going to help you achieve your dreams!!" when her own dreams and goals took a hard sideline in the plot. We know basically nothing about what Eri's done in the presumably decades between the high school events and the events of this game. The game really tried pushing the "sometimes, if you fight back... people get hurt!" but it was much more of an emphasis on "toshiro is sad that eri got hurt" and much less "how is Eri actually suffering from this other than in hospital wearing bandages". we know she lost her will to fight but the girl literally just got hit by a train so who can blame her for that, we don't know how or why she regained it, I especially don't like that she made the whole thing about "I'll catch up to you one day!". Did she get to graduate? What's her career like? What's the extent of her injuries and how do they impact her day-to-day life? We know Toshiro got shunned by everyone but did Eri have her social circle decimated as well, especially since Toshiro apparently never talked to her again??
It's like the focus on Eri's injuries was a) she lost her will to fight :( b) Toshiro is sad about it and they won't be able to fight together anymore :( and not the things about how it's impacted her life outside of Toshiro. I think that would've been nice to see more.
And the thing I especially didn't like about how they wrote Eri is that her character dragged down Erina, who was pretty good throughout the first arc, fell kinda into the background in the second arc, and then in arc 3 just got pretty much merged with Eri and suddenly her sole purpose was to protect Toshiro's heart -- nothing about the people she was trying to protect in the first arc or really anything other than a few allusions to an ongoing identity crisis over not being a real person. I will admit that her turning into a Persona was the first time I was genuinely caught off guard in this game.
(Sidenote: It was so obvious throughout the third arc that the ruler would be Shadow-ish Toshiro that the red herring they were pulling with nakabachi was completely insufferable.)
Anyways I get that this wasn't an Erina Game it's a Toshiro Game but it's just the combination of a bunch of weird writing decisions that really got to me in this case and at a certain point it was like doing a bingo for "shitty women writing". Eri is both the Inspiration For Toshiro's Rebellious Spirit who also Sees His Potential and Wants To Help Him Achieve His Dreams and then is later The Poor Defenseless Victim And Her Being Hurt Causes Toshiro To Lose His Way But Still Inspires Him To Be Better, and she's also The Woman Who Broke His Heart And Spirit And Is The Cause Of His Suffering But He Doesn't Regret The Time They Spent Together... it's just a weird checklist and it got tiring for me. I don't mind some of these things if it wasn't also in conjunction with Yuki's sole personality being Mother and Marie's sole personality being Bitch Wife Only Marrying Me For My Status.
idk maybe I'll feel better about it as time passes but at a certain point it was like my god are we really still doing this.
anyways what else. the DLC! I enjoyed the DLC overall. I really liked Guernica and Luca's whole thing. I think it was mostly held back by the fact that neither Akechi or Sumire were their normal selves and you couldn't fully allude to their Problems. Akechi kind of did nothing even if bullying him was fun. Sumire got a few good moments. I found it especially weird that Akechi didn't pick up on anything being up with "Kasumi", especially when at one point Luca literally calls her "Kasumi" in front of everyone, and especially when he should have picked up on something being weird when Sumire was talking about her sister since to the best of my knowledge japanese doesn't have an age-neutral "sister" word so she would have been saying "younger sister" when she meant "older sister". but I'd be interested in checking the original out to see if they got away with it some other way.
(I do find Akechi's one weird "let me guess, you're a god" comment extremely funny though. Is it meant to imply he's dealt with gods before this because I don't think he should have. I think Akechi got too much knowledge of how persona games work for a second.)
I really think Akechi could've been an interesting addition to the main game considering the plot is centered around the guy who is rumored to be becoming prime minister after Shido, but I figured out pretty quick that they couldn't put him in here because he would just have too much knowledge about the current political state and would be able to deduce at least most of the second arc very quickly. at least half this game apparently operates on idiot plot or in one memorable case "yeah I thought something was off but apparently decided not to say anything about it until now". so back to purgatory with you, akechi.
oh one last thing. in the main story. why the fuck were the phantom thieves there?? I get how the whole thing got constructed for toshiro but there was no reason for the thieves to get called into this, because the god wouldn't want them there and (unlike the dlc) toshiro wouldn't have called for them, unless maybe it was subconscious, but they really don't even attempt at giving a half-assed explanation so I am still completely lost on that.
anyways overall like I said I had fun but a lot of this felt sloppy. sometimes I feel bad about my writing skills but then I remember how incredibly unsubtle persona is and feel better about myself. I really wish erina could have driven the plot on her own right and not just for toshiro's sake. that's kind of the part I feel bitterest about at this point.
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messrmoonyy · 5 months
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im midway through the island as im typing this but ive watched streams before playing so i kinda know what happens!!! okay so like i know the scars are... Not So Great, but their gAFF???? impeccable. as a certified Forrest Bitch, this shit fucks.
the extras too??? the MODEL VIEWER??? every time i load up the game i have to look at alice, shes so precious and i feel so bad that ive most definately killed her as ellie :( and the concept art??? incredible!!! i love this kind of thing, i think its so cool to see how a game develops!! the woman dancing with joel intrigues me, like i know a lot of people see her as a potential love interest and yeah thats probably it but what if, wHAT IF- its tess. i know that sounds so stupid but i picture him missing her in jackson and reminiscing, like what would it be like if she were here?? would she have liked it? because i really dont see him being with anyone else DO YOU GET MY VISION (tess x reader?????? yeah the vibes fuck)
the IMAGERY????? the SYMBOLISM??????? i could talk about it forever and a day!!! the reoccurring theme of open windows is my favourite i love it so much, the autism bestie... its autisming!!!! thank you so much for listening to me rant about this
The island is the me of my FAV sections of the game. Tbh all of Abby’s gameplay is better than Ellie’s SUE ME. And I am a mega stealth bitch I love stealth play and the stealth on the island? AMAZING.
The scars are tbh one of the most interesting game villains I’ve come across. Like they’re high key crazy but they’re so interesting.
If you love concept art I really suggest getting the ‘ the art of the last of us ‘ books! I have them and they are literal masterpieces and have so much additional text/ Info explaining everything. I’m the same and am a sucker for seeing how games are made and admiring the art. Even in game I love exploring everything cause I’m like ‘ PLS LEMME LOOK AND APPRECIATE ALL YOUR HARD WORK ITS SO PRETTY’
I’m really glad they didn’t go with some of their early ideas like the Joel’s love interest route and the Abby infiltrates Jackson route. But especially the Joel one like, I already get annoyed by the fact that Joel kinda doesn’t mention/ have a reaction about Tess even once after she dies so seeing him move on would’ve made me incredibly salty 😂💀 I am a Tess x reader girly out of canon we been knew. But in canon I am such a Joel x Tess girlie.
I love rambling about this game so you’re so welcome lmao pls rant to me whenever! I will happily rant back
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airasora · 1 year
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I've been going back and forth on talking about this for months... especially because I still have absolutely no idea what I think myself. So I need you guys' thoughts on something... specifically the Hogwartz Legacy game.
Now, it shouldn't come to anyone's surprise that I am NOT a fan of JK Rowling and haven't been for years. If you don't know why you're either part of the problem or you've been living under a rock. Short explanation is that she's transphobic as hell. So, naturally, I don't want to support her in any shape or form. I've never been a massive Harry Potter fan. I haven't read the books and only watched the first four movies or such cause I kept zoning out during the fifth movie and never made it through it. So, clearly, I wasn't one of the people who were completely distraught when JK Rowling came forward with her terf mindset.
However, I've always loved the world itself. The creatures, the magic and spells, the idea of a school for wizardry... All that is right up my alley. So, when I first stumbled across Hogwartz legacy, I had mixed feelings. I would have been all over it if not for JK Rowling. It looks fantastic, but I struggle with the idea of supporting this woman in any shape or form. I don't know if she earns a revenue for the game, though I'm guessing she probably does. I don't want to support her, but I do want to support the people who clearly put a lot of love and effort in the game.
Allow me to compare it with the Mulan remake. I decided to livestream the movie back then and someone asked me if I didn't care that the cast supported the CCP, whereas my respond was yes; I do care. That's why I didn't pay for the movie and was livestreaming it to encourage other people to NOT pay for the movie.
I'm not sure if a let's play could work the same way... since it's very different watching a movie through someone else than watching gameplay rather than playing it yourself. If it could encourage more people to NOT buy the game by giving them the option to watch let's plays instead, that would result in a lower profit for JK. But I don't know if that is how it'd turn out. My biggest fear is encouraging more people to buy and support the game through that. I definitely don't want to do that.
As you can hear, I've been thinking about this a lot... and I've argued both sides. There are two facts for me; 1, I would love the hell out of Hogwartz Legacy and 2, I hate JK Rowling and don't want to support her. So, I need some more opinions from other people. I've seen trans people hating JK with every fiber of their being, and I've seen trans people say they refuse to let go of Harry Potter just because its creator later came out as a shit human being. I've seen people arguing both sides (obviously JK's fellow terf people agree with her, but I'm not talking about those)
I would greatly appreciate any thoughts and feelings on this. You can just tell me what you think about all of this in the replies. Please don't start any fights between each other though; no one is going to get anything out of that. Argue and defend your opinion with being vile towards anyone else, please.
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okuma-katzu · 9 months
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Someone please stop me.
I want to make a Hypnos lullaby fnf mod au where the characters are in Danganronpa.
But here's the thing: I don't want to go back to my Danganronpa phase. So why am I even thinking about it?
Well, a little app named 'Spotify' decided to play Kokichi Oma Cause I'm a liar vocaloid song (I don't pay for Spotify, so I have no control over this), and during this time I Headcannoned Dawn to be unhinged to the point even Glitchy Red and Steven are concerned for her well being.
Some random 'throwaway' thoughts later and boom, my mind decided to Develop a hypnos lullaby Danganronpa AU. The AU would've mostly followed the events of V3 (Though not all of them for reasons I won't explain unless someone asks me)
But I forgot most of what happened in V3, and as I said before, I don't want to go back to my Danganronpa phase. This means I don't want to consume Danganronpa content either.
But the worst part? I've already gone too far!
Here are the plans I have for this AU:
Grey is the protagonist, taking up Shuichi and Kaede's role/roles. (No, he doesn't die, he's actually a survivor)
Dawn takes Kokichi's role, mostly... she just takes the creepy faces and liar part of him. Nothing else. Yes, this also means she's a victim.
Blake/Mount silver easter egg Ethan is a survivor.
The AU would've only added characters that appeared in Hypnos lullaby (this includes pokemon like Hypno, DISABLED/Wigglytuft, etc. And maybe canceled characters too.) So no other pokepastas (they may appear as cameos though). Oh, also, this mod won't add BF, GF, or Pico either due to them being from FNF and not being made for the mod.
Lost silver Silver is the first victim, Glitchy Red is his murderer. Glitchy's motive was that he wanted to kill Mount silver easter egg Red, but something happened (maybe Red had a sixth sense he was gonna die so he disguised Silver as him) and Glitchy killed Silver. (No, silver doesn't die the same way as Rantaro does)
Steven kills Mike by strangling him. I haven't really decided on Steven's motive for killing him. Maybe Pikachrome (the monokuma for this au) showed Steven his Charizard dying before the game happened and Steven got so pissed he killed his brother? Just a thought, probably won't happen.
Dawn gets killed by Red via hydraulic press. She put on Red's clothes and asked him to kill her so they could create a case that could stump even the mastermind.
I've considered making pregame variants of the characters, but I decided not to do that for now.
Shinto's fate is an enigma. (I did, at one point, wanted her to be monokuma, but decided against it in favor of making a monochromatic pikachu.)
Pikachrome and Freakachu aren't the same Pikachu. Just thought I should put that out there (I had another Pokemon Danganronpa AU that featured pokemon game protags and I made Pikachrome for that AU)
I haven't really decided on who would be the mastermind yet. I've considered using Hypno's owner, but I ended up deciding against it. (Mainly because she is a child)
Lost silver Gold would be somewhat dead in this AU. Its kind of hard to explain, but basically he will still not have eyes, but he has implants for his missing arms and legs. I'll explain more if someone asks/wants me to.
And thats all of my plans for this AU if I ever make it. Now, can someone please stop me before I start watching a Danganronpa V3 gameplay video? I really don't want to do this but at the same time I do-
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